Incentive - August 2009 - (Page 14)

Corporate Gift Giving Industry veteran Michael Arkes makes socially responsible gift giving accessible to clients who want to make a statement GOOD By Kassia Shishkoff & William Ng n a normal year, Lisa DaSilva, an Orlando-based incentive and recognition consultant for Halo/Lee Wayne Corp., would source a selection of luxury gift items for Marriott International’s global sales team to choose as awards for its associates. Of course, this is not a normal year, so this time she brought only one option: products marketed by a company called Helping Hand Rewards, which was created by Michael Arkes, president and CEO of Chicago-based Hinda Incentives. DaSilva knew Marriott, like most companies in this economy, was making budget cuts, and incentives are often the first to go. “I said, ‘I really want to take this opportunity to focus on sending a positive message,’ and presented the Helping Hand Rewards products,” says DaSilva. “Then it just started taking off.” Began by Arkes in 2006, Helping Hand Rewards distributes products from all over the world. Although that in itself is not unusual, what makes the company different is that the Gifting for I This iron washer basket, made by women in India and available for purchase as a business gift, commanded the spotlight at a recent Marriott partners event items it markets to corporations are made by underprivileged or at-risk women and men in the U.S. and less developed countries. Its objective is to assist socially focused enterprises in marketing and distributing their products in the incentive channel, thereby providing corporate social responsibility (CSR) with gift giving for incentive program planners. Marriott was aboard with the idea immediately, latching onto one particular item dubbed the iron washer basket, supplied by World of Good Inc., based in Emeryville, CA, near San Francisco. The intricate bowl, according to DaSilva, is handwelded in India using recycled washers, with about 1,000 touch points. She first saw the basket at last year’s Motivation Show in Chicago. Marriott “really jumped on that particular product” because the hotel company has a huge community initiative in India, says DaSilva, who adds that India is one of many locations where the hotel firm is undertaking CSR projects. Each participant at Marriott’s Travel Partners Conference on June 11 in Orlando, attended by top-level partners, received the basket. Marriott even shipped the items home for attendees so that they wouldn’t have to worry about carrying them and fitting them in their luggage. At the conference, the basket was showcased on a lighted pedestal to spur conversation, says DaSilva. Then a presenter told everyone that there will be one waiting for them when they got home. The presenter also talked about how the 14 | Incentive | August 2009 | incentivemag.com http://www.incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - August 2009

Incentive - August 2009
Contents
Editor’s Note: Confession of a Cash Clod
Headlines
Cover Story: Ameriplan, a Multilevel Marketing Firm, Stands By Incentive Travel
Gifting for Good
Research: Gift Card IQ
Strategies: Proving Ourselves
Primer: Diversity Best Practices
Travel News: Where to Go and How to Get There
Potentials: Here and Now
Electronics: Recharging the Market with What Excites
Debit & Stored-Value Cards: The Universal Workhorse

Incentive - August 2009